


a game of catch. kinda.

by xogray



Series: percabeth oneshots [20]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mortal, F/M, I hate tagging, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray
Summary: “do you know what today is?”annabeth blinked. she racked her brain. it wasn’t their anniversary or either of their birthdays. she looked at percy and tilted her head. “um,” she said, “may 16th?”he chuckled. “well, yes.” he took her hand. “but also, seven years ago today, i realized i was in love with you.”- or the one in which he tosses her an apple and she catches it
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: percabeth oneshots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839274
Comments: 1
Kudos: 146





	a game of catch. kinda.

naturally, annabeth was suspicious. she and percy definitely went on dates. not super often, with their busy work schedules, but they did sometimes. but why percy so adamantly wanted to go on a picnic this weekend, annabeth didn’t understand. aside from beach trips, which he loved an unreasonable amount, he was an indoor person. both of them were, but especially him. so annabeth could not think of a single reason he would want to go on a picnic in a field.

nonetheless, it was beautiful. they sat on a red blanket at a park that was nearly an hour away from their apartment (another reason annabeth was suspicious). there was a somewhat secluded field next to a large lake. far across the water, there was a mountain range with forests. percy sat with his legs crossed and annabeth had her head in his lap. he ran his fingers through her hair, doing his best to not pull at any tangles in her curls.

regardless of her skepticism of his date choice, she was content. they had eaten most of what he brought already and then they were talking for a while, about any topic that came to mind, but now they were silent, just listening to the wind and the birds. annabeth looked up at percy to find his eyes on the lake, deep in thought. she studied him, trying to read his expression as best as she could from this angle. something was on his mind, clearly, which made her anxious. she was feeling so content, happy even. was he not?

“hey,” she said softly. percy looked down and a soft smile graced his features. 

“hey,” he replied. when annabeth began to sit up, percy placed a hand under her to help lift her up. she turned her body to face the water and looked over at him.

“you okay?” she asked. his eyebrows furrowed together.

“yeah. why?”

annabeth shrugged. “just wanted to check. you looked like you were thinking pretty hard about something.” 

he smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “i’m okay,” he told her, leaning over to kiss her softly. a warm feeling spread through her and she smiled, placing her head on his shoulder. 

“can i have the strawberries you packed?” she asked. percy reached into the picnic basket on the other side of him and took out a container, handing it to annabeth. there was another reason she had been suspicious. he had bought a classic looking wicker picnic basket. which was cute, sure, but annabeth didn’t understand why. they could’ve put the food in a bag or something. she had never questioned him though. if he was going to great lengths for a date with her, who was she to interrogate him about it.

“thank you,” she said as she popped off the lid, placing it on the blanket next to her. she took a strawberry and bit into it, then held the container out to him, allowing him to take one too. she placed the container down, eating her piece of fruit slowly. 

percy shrugged his shoulder lightly, making annabeth lift her head to look at her. his green eyes were so bright and sparkly, it made her smile. both her and percy placed the finished tops of their strawberry back in the container.

“do you know what today is?”

annabeth blinked. she racked her brain. it wasn’t their anniversary or either of their birthdays. she looked at percy and tilted her head. “um,” she said, “may 16th?”

he chuckled. “well, yes.” he took her hand. “but also, seven years ago today, i realized i was in love with you.”

annabeth felt her cheeks flush as she smiled. “oh?” she asked. she thought back to that time. percy and she had been friends for about eight months at that point after meeting in an ancient history class they were both taking. they had bonded over their odd love for greek mythology. annabeth also noted that they didn’t begun dating until about three months after that date. 

“yeah,” he said, a little shy. “we were with piper and hazel, walking around the city that day and we were at the top of the empire state building. and you had said something about how william lamb modeled it after two other buildings and you went on about the plans and all that, and you were standing by the window in the sunlight and talking about it. and i just remember being like struck with the realization that i was completely in love with you. i knew i had liked you, obviously. duh, you’re you, of course i did. but i knew then that i was a goner.”

annabeth’s heart felt like it might burst right out of her chest as percy spoke. her evergrowing love for him felt overwhelming in that moment. when he stopped talking, annabeth leaned over and kissed him.

“so why did it take you so long to ask me out?” she asked when they pulled away. he laughed, wrapping an arm around her. 

“i was scared. you were my best friend, i didn’t want to jeopardize that.”

she looked at him thoughtfully. “i love you,” she said quietly, leaning closer to him. he kissed her forehead. he was quiet for a minute and for some reason, it made annabeth uneasy. obviously he wasn’t about to break up with her. that wouldn’t make sense. like hey, i fell in love with you seven years ago today but we’re over now, sorry. annabeth felt like it was safe to assume that wasn’t where this conversation was going.

“i love you so much,” he said quietly into her hair. she looked up to lock eyes with him as he spoke. “i really do. you mean so much to me, beth.”

annabeth smiled softly, her heart swelling with affection. she pressed her lips to his again. 

“i’ve been thinking,” he started and annabeth did her best not to tense. she had no reason to be anxious. “we’ve talked about the future and everything before. but it’s just been on my mind recently… this is, like, forever, right? us?”

annabeth smiled timidly. “yeah,” she said without hesitation. “i mean, that’s what i want.”

percy smiled. annabeth may have been imagining it, but it felt like percy physically relaxed. as if some kind of tension had left his body. 

“okay,” he told her. “good. me too.”

he kissed her again before grabbing the container of strawberries between them and putting the lid on and turning to put it in the basket. annabeth ran a hand through her hair to push her hair out of her face. the wind was not being kind to her curls today.

“oh, here. catch,” percy said. with no further comment, he tossed her a red apple. she caught it in her hands and looked at it. she didn’t really like apples that much.

“why did you-” she stopped. in retrospect, she didn’t know how she had made the connection so fast. she stared at the apple in her hands, blinking a few times. then she looked at percy. he had a soft but unreadable expression on his. her throat felt dry.

“is this- did you mean that in the way you made it seem?” she asked.

in a split second, a memory she forgot she had resurfaced. her and percy had been in their ancient history class. their professor had mentioned something about how in greece, a man throwing a woman an apple could be a marriage proposal. if the woman caught it, that was her saying yes. when they had been told this, percy had leaned over and whispered, “that’s how i’m gonna propose to my future wife. just toss her an apple and see if she gets it.” annabeth had just laughed and rolled her eyes.

percy smiled at her. maybe he had been surprised she had caught on so fast. “how did i make it seem?” he asked.

annabeth would’ve rolled her eyes if her heart hadn’t been pounding. she felt like she had forgotten how to breathe. “percy, i-” she swallowed, trying to collect herself. “is this… are you…” she couldn’t finish.

percy leaned in, until his face was only a few inches from hers. “annabeth,” he said. her eyes searched his. “you don’t like apples. why the hell else would i have thrown you an apple?”

as if suddenly remembering how to function, she dropped the apple and threw her arm around his neck, kissing him. he hummed in surprise as they both toppled backward so that percy’s back was on the ground with annabeth halfway on top of him. his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. annabeth wasn’t sure whose heart she felt racing. maybe both of theirs.

she didn’t realize she was crying until she pulled away to breathe and percy moved his hands to her face to wipe tears from her cheeks. “is that a yes?” he asked, smiling.

annabeth nodded furiously. “of course it is, idiot.” he laughed and kissed her again, regardless of the fact they were both still breathless. annabeth didn’t want to stop kissing him but she needed to collect herself and her thoughts and she couldn’t do that with his lips on hers. she pulled back and placed her head in the crook of his neck. he kissed her head and held her.

“you figured it out really fast,” he commented. annabeth sniffled.

“i don’t know how,” she replied. “if you hadn’t asked me about us being together forever right before that, i might not have figured it out that fast.”

“i wanted to make sure you were gonna say yes,” he said, almost hesitantly. she lifted her head to look at him. she could only imagine how much of a mess she was from crying but he still looked at her with his eyes full of love. 

“of course i would say yes,” she told him. he smiled sheepishly. annabeth kissed him softly. “i still want a ring, by the way.”

he laughed and reached over, blindly shuffling through the picnic basket. a few seconds later, he pulled out a small, black velvet box. annabeth’s breath caught in her throat. she sat up and ended up with her knees on either side of his hips. percy lifted himself upright so he was almost chest to chest with annabeth.

“i was going to give you this no matter what,” he said, “but i also brought it in case you didn’t get the apple thing and i was gonna have to propose the normal way.”

annabeth smiled. he opened the box and took out the silver ring. there were five diamonds on it. the center one was the biggest, with two on either side shrinking in size as it got further from the center diamond. annabeth held out her left hand.

percy took it and pressed his lips to it before holding it. “i never said the actual words,” he said. once again, annabeth wanted to roll her eyes but when he looked up at her, his expression was so full of love and admiration as he searched her face. “so, annabeth chase. i love you more than anything and i want to spend every day with you, for the rest of my life.”

“you’re gonna make me cry again,” annabeth whispered, her voice thick. percy smiled.

he looked right into her eyes and annabeth held her breath without realizing. “will you marry me?” he said quietly. 

annabeth’s heart swelled but she forced herself to gather her wits. she pretended to think. “hm,” she hummed. “i guess so.” 

percy laughed and raised his eyebrows. “oh, you guess? i can take it back if you’d prefer.”

“no, you can’t,” she said, grabbing his face and kissing him. “you already asked and i caught the apple. you can’t take it back, you’re stuck with me.”

percy laughed again and looked up at her, beaming. his entire demeanor was playful and light, but his words were serious. “good. there’s no one else i’d rather be stuck with.” 

he took the ring and finally placed it on her finger. she looked at it, feeling absolutely euphoric. annabeth kissed him again, this time slower, deeper. for all she cared, they were the only two people to exist right now. his arms held her around her waist, keeping her chest pressed against his. eventually, she pulled away. 

“we should go home,” annabeth told him quietly. he furrowed his eyebrows.

“already? why?” he asked. they had only been out for a few hours and it was a beautiful day. but instead of responding, annabeth smiled and took advantage of the fact that she was straddling him, rolling her hips once. percy’s breath caught and his back straightened as he understood. “oh. okay, yeah. we should go home.”


End file.
